The kidnapped 276 Nigerian girls have not been returned to their homes in Chibok, Borno State, but neither have they been forgotten. While mothers, men and young people have gathered up their meager resources to trapse through the dense and deadly Sambisi Forest, where the abducted school girls were thought to be held initially, and the military tries to coordinate an adequate retrieval effort, people in other parts of the world are doing their part to keep the genuine #bringbackourgirls movement going.
Twice a week, the Rev. Herbert Daughtry and his Interfaith Clergy group hold a daily prayer vigil at the United Nations. On June 26, the Rev. Cheryl Anthony will be among a group of clergy heading to Nigeria to address the issue.
On Monday, June 9, Nkechie Ogbodo, president of Kechi’s Project, presented a forum with a host of organizations, individual activists and everyday people, gathered at 777 United Nations Plaza to discuss the “State of Girls in Nigeria.”
Kechie’s Project is a New York-based nonprofit dedicated to the education of Nigerian girls and is at the forefront of the effort to rescue the missing girls of Chibok. This forum addressed why Nigerian girls are under attack not only from the likes of Boko Haram but also from other cultural, religious and social entities that, Ogbodo said, keeps them perpetually at risk for situations such as “forced underage marriage, sexual and domestic abuse, the likelihood of becoming a victim of human trafficking, higher infection rate of AIDS/HIV and other STDs and little or no access to education.”
Featured panelists were guest speaker Stacey Scarpone, executive director, Women’s Fund of Long Island; our own Nana Brew-Hammond; Rahama Kassim of Civil Society of Nigeria (who flew in from Kano that same day); Nana Afsou-Randal of Voices of African Mothers; Dahiru Tahir Biu (with at least one Boko Haram family member) of the Nigerian American Leadership Council; and Bobby Diggy of Island Voice (Staten Island). It was a riveting and informative presentation and discussion.
“At our panel discussion events, we are about collective processes to get things done, one young girl at a time, both in Africa and internationally,” Ogbodo stated. “It was such a good thing to get together to be inspired as we did today. We are not asking for favors from the Nigerian government, but we only try to tell the truth about the Chibok girls and beyond. Truth is not politics, as we have all seen. Politics is just a means to an end but not always the desired end.”
With issues such as Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan’s 2015 re-election bid being bandied about as a possible cause for a calculated destabilizing effort, to the speculation as to possible underhanded international collusion in the funding and supplying of the notorious Boko Haram, Ogbodo stresses that Kechie’s Project is not about politics. “We are about movements, changes and working together. We promise to fight on until the Chibok girls are found.”
Professor Stella Okereke, chairperson of Daughters of Africa in Diaspora, spoke on how to move Nigeria forward. She emphasized her organization’s priority: “To increase the awareness of gender wrongs and advocate action for essential human progress, transformation that adds value to life and puts a lid on unjust policies and discriminatory acts aimed at retarding the girl-child.”
Okekere analyzed some of the most horrendous problems facing these young juvenile girls. “Media reports from Nigeria had it that girl hawkers are sexually molested, harassed, abused and raped.”
The professor stated, “The Chibok girls are suffering the same government neglect from leaders who did not believe the girls were kidnapped, do not know where they are and are clueless as to how to handle the situation. It is a hopeless situation in a nation where the president has saboteurs in his administration who keep furnishing the enemies with government plans, and the security system is ill-equipped in all areas of security equipment.”
The panel was an insightful and vital exchange of ideas and proposals for the way forward. But even as speakers took to the podium, Ogbodo announced the news of at least 20 Fulani men, women and girls being snatched midday at gunpoint from a nomadic settlement, Garkin Fulani, near Chibok town, Borno State.
On April 14, about 300 girls were abducted by the extremist group Boko Haram, which has been terrorizing Nigeria for five years, slaughtering civilians and law enforcement and military personnel, and burning down entire villages. The world determined that Nigeria’s president had a slow and ineffective response to the abduction, despite a military official claiming two weeks ago that they knew where the girls were located but would not go in blazing for fear of injuring the students in any attempted rescue.
In the interim, it is being reported that local hunters and members of a militia called the Vigilante Group of Nigeria were recently deployed to secure Chibok schools and the returning junior secondary school students set to write their term papers. But they claimed that by the time they heard of this latest kidnapping, the kidnappers were able to get away.
Reported by Allafrica.com, Alhaji Tar, the chairman of the Vigilante Group, said, “We were told that the gunmen went to Garkin Fulani near Chibok town and forcefully took away the women. Due to poor communication, the news did not go out immediately. Even the Fulani men only got to know about it when they returned home late in the evening, but villagers around the place said they saw the gunmen driving in about three Hilux jeeps.”
Meanwhile, a week ago, within a day of hundreds of people being gunned down in Atagara Village in the Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, an additional 45 people were reportedly slain, also by suspected members of Boko Haram, in Bargari Village in the Konduga Local Government Area.
Kechie’s Project, in collaboration with Harlem4 and Street Corner Resources, organized a May 10, five-mile march from Harlem to the Nigerian Consulate. Ogbode said, “Our rally had a broad coalition of activist groups, churches, government officials. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and family, along with the Rev. Al Sharpton and many other notables, attended and spoke at the rally to support our cause.”
Ogbodo said her group, which was founded in 2010, has “been providing educational scholarships to girls in Nigeria, while delivering mentorship opportunities to our girls in Harlem, to whom we are equally committed.” She said, “As a New York-based nonprofit organization, we are dedicated to empowering underprivileged and under-represented girls in Nigeria to reach beyond their poverty, gender and cultural limitations.”
Ogbodo echoed the sentiments of all the speakers on Monday, as she proclaimed, “Evil forces such as Boko Haram use fear to thwart the education of girls. Our answer is that we will try to educate them all.”
The adamant activist declared, “Boko Haram’s attempt to disenfranchise and subjugate the girls of Nigeria has strengthened our determination to do more for our girls by expanding our educational scholarships program in Nigeria. In addition, Kechie’s Project will begin to aggressively address issues such as domestic violence, teen pregnancy, rape, early marriage, self-esteem and how our girls are socialized to quietly endure these conditions as acceptable.”
As Kechie’s Project continues to stand up and speak up “against any form of injustice that affects girls in Nigeria and Africa,” Ogbodo adds, “Now we are more determined without fear to utilize the support of the global community and affiliate organizations to help our girls. We know that when girls are educated and empowered, they become scientist, educators, CEOs, doctors, lawyers and phenomenal mothers that raise the standards for the next generation of girls in Africa, who positively impact their family, their country and the global community. All girls have a right to education, and we will continue to work tirelessly to empower and cherish all girls.”
